Monday, May 21, 2018

3-year-old shot in head near River Rouge border with Detroit

A three-year-old boy is reportedly in critical condition after he was hit in a drive-by shooting on the Detroit-River Rouge border this weekend.

Media outlets report that Jamar Lee Quinn Jr. was shot in the head while he was sleeping at his great-grandmother's house early Sunday morning.

The incident happened on the 400 block of Campbell Street in River Rouge, just a stone's throw from the Detroit border, which has seen a spate of shootings of children in recent weeks.

The home has been the target of violence in recent weeks, family members told local TV stations. According to WJBK, the home was "firebombed" overnight, the day after the little boy was shot. WXYZ reports that someone shot through the front windows of the home a couple of weeks ago.

A dispatcher from the River Rouge Police Department was unable to provide any information on the incidents. The three-square-mile city shares two borders with Detroit and has a crime rate that is twice the national rate, according to city-data.com.

The drive-by follows a series of shooting incidents involving small children in Detroit. Two weeks ago, a 3-year-old boy shot himself in the stomach after police say he got a hold of his dad’s gun. In April, a 7-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl were hit by stray bullets in separate shootings within a two-day period. All three of the children were listed in critical condition immediately after each incident. The Detroit Police Department has not responded to requests for an update on their conditions.

Stay on top of Detroit news and views. Sign up for our weekly issue newsletter delivered each Wednesday.